If Europe’s IFA trade show is
any bellwether for what’s to come at the
International CES held each January in the
U.S., then we’re in for an exciting show in
Las Vegas next year. At IFA, robots got
smarter; smartphones and tablets lighter,
faster, and more powerful; and smart
watches — well, they finally became worth
taking seriously. Our 10 favorite things
from this event really stole the show.
1) LG G Watch R
While square and
rectangular
smartwatches
were revealed by
most major
mobile
manufacturers at the IFA show,
smartwatches with circular faces are still a
rare breed, making the stylish LG G Watch
R’s arrival even more exciting. It’s a
metal-bodied, leather-strapped beauty,
which is as technically up-to-date as it is
fashionable, thanks to the use of Google’s
funky new Android Wear operating system.
2) Dyson 360 Eye
Dyson’s robotic
vacuum took
nearly 16 years
to develop, but
based on what
we saw at the show, it will have been
worth the wait. The 360 Eye doesn’t just
bump and grind its way around until it
(hopefully) manages to cover every square
foot of floor space, as other robot
vacuums do. Instead, it uses a 360-degree
panoramic image sensor to “see” its
environment, and it never passes over the
same area twice, so it moves more
efficiently. Pair that with what Dyson
claims is the most powerful suction
available in its class, tank-like tracks that
ensure it never gets held up by obstacles,
and an app that lets you control and
monitor its every move remotely, and
you’ve got the robot vacuum of the future.
Of course, at an estimate $1,100, you’ll
also have to pay handsomely for it.
3) LG 8K LED Television
Nothing causes a
better spectacle
than an
absolutely
massive TV
screen, and LG’s
98-inch 8K model is one of the most
spectacular we’ve ever seen. With
practically invisible pixels totaling 16 times
that of 1080p HD televisions, this
set delivers images with a depth of field
that brings us a significant step closer
to lifelike TV. Sure, 8K is ages away from
being a practical standard, but that isn’t
stopping the industry from pressing
forward – and it’s always fun to look at a
slice of the future.
4) Intel Core M CPU
Intel made a
splash at the
show this year
by unveiling its
new Core M
processor. While
some performance gains are expected, the
highlights of Core M are its energy
efficiency and fan-less
attributes. According to Intel, the Core M
CPU consumes only about 4.5 watts of
power. That’s considerably less than the
previous generation of low-power Intel
Core chips, which need 11.5 watts to
operate. Core M hardware is also
significantly smaller than previous-
generation gear.
Since Intel Core M processors don’t
require fans in order to cool them, all of
these factors could combine to make Core
M-powered computers thinner and more
portable than anything we’ve ever seen.
5) Galaxy Note Edge
It’s impossible
not to stare at
Samsung’s crazy
looking Galaxy
Note Edge. While
the Galaxy Note
4 will be more widely available, and
inevitably more popular, it’s this unusual
smartphone that really captured our
attention. The 2,560 × 1,440 pixel screen
has a curved edge to it, which operates
independently, so it can display additional
material including notifications, fitness
data, and even a streaming news feed.
6) Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
It may be new,
but we already
think the Xperia
Z3 Tablet
Compact will be
a contender for
the best all-round Android tablet we’ve
seen yet. The 8-inch, HD screen is sized
just right, and the quad-core chip makes it
incredibly fast. But we were really won
over by the astonishingly slim and light
body, making it more pocketable than a
tablet has any right to be. And it’s more
waterproof than a pair of rubber trousers,
so it’s extremely practical too.
7) Sennheiser Urbanite headphones
Available in both
on-ear and over-
ear varieties,
Sennheiser’s
Urbanite
headphones are
what Beats wishes it was making. Designed
with just a touch of extra bass in mind,
the Urbanites avoid the all-too-common
pitfall of sacrificing sound quality for
prodigious low end. These headphones are
stylish, comfortable and remarkably
dynamic and balanced, right down to the
bass department, where they get just the
right amount of boost. The Urbanite may
be aimed at a generation that enjoys EDM
and hip-hop, but even the starchiest
audiophile can’t deny that these
headphones sound superb.
8) Lenovo ThinkPad Helix
Lenovo’s sequel
to its ThinkPad
Helix detachable
laptop was a
welcome
announcement.
This new edition could be even better than
the last entry, which was excellent in its
own right. The ThinkPad Helix will ship
with Intel’s Core M CPU inside, which
should bring about considerably better
battery life. That’s very important,
considering that the Helix is geared
towards business users who do quite a bit
of traveling.
This time around, Lenovo will be offering
two keyboard docks to choose from. One
of them, dubbed the Ultrabook Pro, will
ship with a built-in battery, which should
extend battery life by about 4 hours. On
top of that, the Ultrabook Pro keyboard
dock will include improvements that
weren’t present in the last Helix, including
keyboard back-lighting. The standard
Ultrabook dock that Lenovo will also offer
won’t include a built-in battery or back-
lighting, but both sport an excellent
keyboard, which was a pleasure to use in
our tests.
Perhaps best of all is the significant
reduction in starting price. The current
generation of the ThinkPad Helix starts at
$1,499 according to Lenovo’s official site.
The new version will start at $999 once
the revamped Lenovo ThinkPad Helix
launches sometime this October. Note that
the Ultrabook Pro dock won’t be available
until January.
9) HTC Desire 820
HTC’s Desire
range doesn’t
always get much
recognition, but
the new Desire
820 is exciting
enough to change all that. It uses the new
Snapdragon 615 processor, which not only
has eight cores but is 64-bit too, so it’s
ready for the arrival of Google’s Android L
software in the near future. HTC has fitted
a trendy, and very powerful, 8-megapixel
selfie cam, then wrapped the 5.5-inch
screen up in a slick, two-tone
polycarbonate body.
10) Magnat Quantum Signature Speakers
It’s a shame that
parent company
Audiovox doesn’t
distribute
Magnat’s wares
outside of
Europe, because we think they’d make a
killing in the U.S. Even amid the din of a
bustling trade show floor, these massive
floorstanding loudspeakers reeled us in
with their mighty and meticulous sound
quality. Powered by Magnat’s super-sexy
RV3 hybrid integrated amplifier (tube pre-
amp, solid state amp) the Quantum
Signature produced powerful, poignant
bass accompanied by lush midrange and
treble so airy and detailed we couldn’t
believe it came from a pair of 1-inch
dome tweeters. At $10,000 a pair, the
Quantum Signature may be expensive, but
they easily dispatch speakers costing
several times that amount.
So this is our top 10 list of best Gadgets at IFA 2014 Barlin!!!.
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